Been doing this Social Media thing for a while and have been consulting numerous companies for quite sometime. I am very transparent and want to help everyone even my competition utilize Social to its maximum. If you happen to be at ASR in San Diego, stop by and listen, ask some questions and hopefully pick up some tips. Mike Duncan of Sage Island and I will bring the topics of Facebook and Twitter specifically around Fan Pages, Events and Social activity. If you have a business that you would like me to come and consult contact me here Danny Keith. Some of my clients include Clear Channel Radio (KDON, KTOM, KOCN), Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County, SKATEBOARDS.COM items consulted on include WordPress, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIN, TwitterFeed, FourSquare and other numerous social applications for desktop and mobile. Understanding and implementing Social Commerce and monetization is my specialty in addition to Social Strategy as it applies to your business. I am currently driving TarpSurfing on Facebook, WordPress, Twitter with the help of over 1.5MM YouTube views and directing traffic to website in partnership with Ruse Entertainment. Hit me up and I can help you out!
Mike Duncan and Danny Keith talk Social Media to Action Sports in San Diego
Name: Danny Keith
Occupation: Founder Grind Out Hunger, owner Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop and Development Officer for Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County.
How many children do you have? 3
What does fatherhood mean to you? The opportunity to educate and raise my children with open minds and creative thinking. To provide them with a nurturing environment that allows and encourages intelligence and compassion. Finally to teach them to love unconditionally and appreciate everyday.
What is the best part of being a father or father-figure? The best part of being both a father and father figure in the community has to be watching the successes of the children I have mentored and help guide down life s tricky paths. My goal has always been and will continue to be changing children s lives one at a time and building a better community.
What is the challenging part of being a father or father-figure? For me there is no challenging part of being a father or father figure. I embrace the youth and speak to them with respect and admiration. You have to understand that the youth of today are the future leaders of tomorrow and not just to be seen and not heard.
What advice do you have for fathers or father-figures in our community? The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they at some distant point in the future will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile. Quote from Alvin Toffler
VISIT http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/papas
PAPÁS, Supporting Father Involvement (S.F.I.) is part of a state-wide study aiming to positively increase fathers’ involvement in their family’s lives. We offer fun and educational opportunities about the beneficial role of father figures in the family and community. We also run discussion-format workshops for fathers and couples as part of a study on how to effectively promote father involvement.
18 West Lake Avenue, Suite L, Watsonville, CA 95076
Phone: 763-3123
Danny Keith photo by Charles Mixson
Most people are satisfied with their contributions to their community, but there may be a bigger reason those that volunteer do so with such fervor. Studies indicate people that volunteer in their communities experience longer lives, better relationships with their families and a stronger sense of social connection. Veritable nutrition ingestion for the soul.
The human soul (to quote C.S. Lewis “You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body”) cannot be disputed; it’s only what happens in death that becomes discussion. Nonetheless, people require balance between body and soul in order to sustain and live happy lives. The human soul craves connections with other souls. Interacting and supporting another human is nourishment for the soul.
When you donate time at your kid’s school, the local food bank, disabled veterans or working with the elderly, you are refueling your soul, which can provide you hormonal releases of oxytocin (the helper’s high) combating the feelings of depression triggered by opposing hormones epinephrine and cortisol. When we lock away our altruism, we cannot flourish. It has been proven that volunteering in some capacity can be addicting, continuing their efforts searching for that next high. Depending on where your volunteering takes you, recipients are often shown to be more hopeful, have increased self esteem and decreased anxiety overall completing the circle.
I have seen this firsthand in my interactions with the youth of Santa Cruz County through Grind Out Hunger. What started out as a challenge to make a difference has turned into a full-blown movement. Kids in general are altruistic; we have all seen a toddler help their friends up when they fall, or comfort another friend on a playground after a scrape.
As humans age, need and natural awareness of the social circle and the souls around us diminishes for some. Maybe as we age we cannot be bothered to contribute any of our valuable time. In my travels around the county seeing all levels of schools from well off to below poverty there was one main theme that resonated … kids will help kids. No matter how much they actually donated, they felt fulfilled— part of the solution, empowered, solving the problem (in this case childhood hunger) placed in front of them.
In many ways, when you give of yourself to someone that is less fortunate, you actually are getting something in return. The human soul thrives on appreciation, adoration and the feeling of actually comforting another person even if it’s only momentary (such as giving a significant other a hug). It also can be said by interacting with the less fortunate, we somehow create a more introspective review of our own lives and abilities to accept our own challenges. Whether they be health, finance or relationship related, those that volunteer are more aware of their own issues and how to cope with them more effectively.
Visiting the schools, the message is one of altruism—paying it forward, finding something that gives you back tenfold of what you put in.
While I personally challenge childhood hunger, I tell the kids they need to find something that gives them that same passion, maybe caring for the elderly, cancer patients; developmentally disabled kids … the possibilities are endless. Moreover the message is that it doesn’t require much time, but more a mentality, a way of life if you will, ultimately making your life better. In the end, all we have is each other and it sure does feel good knowing that the people you volunteer for will have hope … and for me that is payment enough.
